– He probably plays a more peripheral role now than he did when he was running his show on Fox. Then he reached many people and was the most central media figure on the far right.
Eric Locke is a consultant at Civita Research. Photo: CF-Wesenberg/kolonihaven.no
This is what American expert Eric Luke tells ABC Nyheter, who points out that Tucker Carlson still has a large fan base in the United States.
-Maybe he still has influence. One must also keep in mind that extremist groups on the right consider Carlson their man. He was very popular in these circles, Locke says, and adds that he also meant a lot to more moderate conservatives and people in the Republican Party.
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As Løkke notes, Carlson may have had a much greater impact when he hosted the TV show “Tucker Carlson Tonight” on Fox.
On April 24 last year, it became clear that the controversial TV show had ended at the channel. The next day, the Los Angeles Times wrote that it was Fox owner Rupert Murdoch himself who had thrown Carlson out the door.
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From Fox to Putin
In February of this year, the world widened its eyes when it became clear that Carlson had obtained permission to interview Vladimir Putin. Since Russia launched a full-scale war against Ukraine in 2022, no Western journalists have been allowed to interview the Russian president.
If we are to believe Locke, this is still the case.
Tucker Carlson has more in common with Goebbels than with journalism. This was pure propaganda for Russia and Putin.
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Joseph Goebbels was Nazi Germany's propaganda minister.
In the interview, Putin spoke about politics and history. There were few critical questions in Moscow that night.
– The matter had nothing to do with critical journalism, but rather it had a lot to do with propaganda. Reactions in the United States were largely as expected. People pointed out the absence of some kind of critical approach.
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Tucker Carlson was on everyone's lips when it became clear he would be interviewing Putin. In the interview, the president claimed that Western countries are using the “imaginary Russian threat” to intimidate their people. Photograph: Gavril Grigorov/Sputnik/AP/NTB
Trump's playmate?
Donald Trump and Joe Biden will likely be the ones fighting for the key to the White House when Americans cast their votes on November 5.
When asked if Carlson could get a role in Trump's campaign, or in the presidential administration if that happens, Locke said the possibilities are there.
-Unthinkable. He can, for example, become a media advisor, or even a central political advisor.
In November and December of last year, Carlson made several statements in which he said he supported Trump's desire to become president again in 2024. At the same time, Trump warned against selecting Nikki Haley as a potential vice president.
Haley withdrew from the race for the Republican nomination last week.
– He is on the far right
Locke cautions against Carlson's positions and points out, among other things, past statements about the conspiracy theory known as the “Great Replacement.”
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The theory is that there is a deliberate policy of replacing the ethnically white populations of Europe and the United States with non-European immigrants and their descendants.
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– This is racism, I mean. Luke says: It's on the far right.
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Tucker Carlson with former President Donald Trump during a golf tournament in the summer of 2022. Photo: Seth Winnie/AP/NTP
Spring 2023 drama
Shortly before Carlson ended speaking on Fox News in April 2023, the media company entered into a settlement regarding a lawsuit from voting machine manufacturer Dominion Voting Systems.
According to NTB, the background to the lawsuit was that the channel claimed the machines were used to “steal the election” from Donald Trump nearly four years ago.
During the trial, it was revealed that Carlson sent text messages to colleagues in which he appeared almost shocked that they would lie to a gullible public about the alleged theft of election victory.
– Locke says the lies he told about Dominion contributed to his inability to continue at Fox.
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Letters were also leaked in which Carlson allegedly wrote that he looked forward to the day when he no longer had to deal with Trump.
– All this suggests that Carlson is too opportunistic. After all, he created a talk show that he adapted to what he thought the audience wanted — which was and remains largely positive toward Trump.
According to several American media outlets, Carlson interviewed Donald Trump back in August 2023.
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